From Frisco to Mansfield, Dallas Mavericks’ fans across the Metroplex are all hyped up about the team’s recent
acquisition of eight-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
The Mavs acquired Markieff Morris and Irving in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Monday for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029. It’s the first time in the Mavs’ 43-year history that they’ve acquired a player of Irving’s stature via a trade.
“Just from a basketball standpoint, it’s a no-brainer,” Plano’s John Delley said. “(Irving’s) talent is Tier 1 talent, generational talent. You just can’t pass up on talent like that when it’s available.
“The Mavericks basically love Dinwiddie, love Finney-Smith, but they’re more accessible or easy to come by than a Kyrie Irving. I think we saw it the first game against the (Los Angeles) Clippers (on Wednesday) how just (Irving’s) presence gave the team a whole new energy. They scored 41 points in the first quarter. Everybody just had a different pep in their step.”
Fans mostly are wondering how four-time All-Star point guard Luka Doncic and Irving will operate together. Then again, they mostly believe it will be a seamless proposition that will cause nightmares for opposing teams.
“Kyrie and Luka on the court together – or separate – is going to be a problem for any team they face,” Frisco’s James Melton said. “Both are great floor generals.”
Dr. Todd Brantley of Plano believes Irving is the shot in the arm the Mavs desperately needed to get back to championship status.
“I’m really excited to get Kyrie here to help Luka lift our team back to where they belong – in the top of the Western Conference with a real chance to win the championship,” Dr. Brantley said. “I’ve been a Mavericks’ fan for 30 years and it’s great to see the Mavs land another true superstar in the NBA.
“There’s no denying some of (Irving’s) off the court issues, but I feel he deserves a fresh start and is probably a little misunderstood by the fans. He’s proven he can get it done on the court and has been one of the best players in the league the last 10 years.”
Mansfield’s David Humphrey believes the acquisition of Irving puts the Mavs on a level with the Dallas Cowboys, as far as local sports enthusiasts are concerned.
“Kyrie has the Mavs tied with the Cowboys, particular since they’re not in the Super Bowl,” Humphrey said. “That trade was a blockbuster, it was stunning and it’s good for the region and I believe it’s good for the team and I think it’s good for sports in general for the state of Texas.
“We’ve seen the Mavs attempt to make those blockbuster trades in the past, but for some reasons they always fell short. This time they came through.”
DeSoto’s Benny Franklin said he jumped for joy when the trade was announced, although he had to temper his excitement because of the players the Mavs gave up to obtain Irving.
“I’m a MMFL,” Franklin said. “I love the trade, but I’m heartbroken about Dorian Finney-Smith. And hopefully, some kind of way – this is wishful thinking – we’ll trade for him in the offseason and bring him back here. That’s how much I love Dorian Finney-Smith.
“I know he’s not a superstar, but every team needs a Dorian Finney-Smith. If I saw that brother right now, l will give him a hug.”
Delley said he would like to give Mavs governor Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison a hug for pulling off what some folks thought was the unthinkable. He also said:
“All the negatives you hear about Kyrie basically come from the media, but I haven’t heard a teammate of his speak negative about him at
all. They all talk about how he’s been there for them, how they love him, how he supports them, how they can count on him, how he’s mentored them, how he’s a resource for them. I’ve never heard his teammates say a negative thing about him, and at the end of the day when you boil everything down and you get down to the nitty-gritty, that’s where it counts is inside that locker room when you’re in the foxhole with your teammates. Everything else is outside noise.”
Outside noise that Frisco’s Nicole Norris doesn’t care for.
“The trade was good because without Kyrie in the last game (against the Clippers) scoring 24 points, the Mavs would have never won,” Norris said. “Especially with Luka out with a hurt heel.
“Therefore, it was a good trade. I think they’ll become a better team because now they have Luka and Kyrie.”
Plano’s Chris Bush is anxious to see Doncic and Irving on the court together, because he expects it to be nothing but pure magic knowing that both players have an extremely high basketball IQ.
“Kyrie is just so, so good,” Bush said. “He’s an exciting player. I can’t wait to see him play with Luka to see how that interaction goes. It’s hard to imagine them making each other better, because they’re so good themselves, but it could very well be the case. They may both get better.
“I like to see how things mesh together once Luka is healthy. I’m kind of really looking forward to seeing that game when they’re at full strength, so to speak. It’s terribly exciting.”
Melton believes the Mavs overall will benefit handsomely from this trade, and that the players probably will wind up with a lot more quality wide-open shots because of the attention Irving and Doncic will attract.
“They both expect to get the best out of their teammates,” Melton said. “(Coach Jason) Kidd is going to have a great game plan each and every night.”
Dr. Bradley also gave a nod to the role players who are assembled around Doncic and Irving.
“Getting a player of (Irving’s) caliber is long overdue, and you know Luka is completely on board and ready to win now,” he said. “We are a real contender now and I think the fans are excited to see what this team can do with all the other good players we have on this team.”
The acquisition of Irving, according to Delley, has to be a welcomed sight for Doncic.
“Luka has to be ecstatic, because first of all we know that Luka had to co-sign on the deal,” Delley said. “And if Luka co-signed on the deal, that tells me that he’s optimistic, he’s enthusiastic, however you want to put it.
“Number one, this is going to extend Luka’s career, because he’s not going to be as heavily counted on, and his usage rate will go way down. That extends his career and that’s going to raise his game because it’s going to free him up, because they can’t double-team him 99.9 percent of the time. Now double-teams will have to be shared between him and Kyrie, because if they double-team both of them, now the Mavericks are playing three-on-one ball.”
Bush knows Irving is in the final year of his contract, and he’s hopeful he’ll re-sign with the Mavs this summer.
“I’m happy to see him here,” Bush said. “I just hope he can mesh from a personal level with the community, and kind of make Dallas his home and get out and do stuff and be seen and just kind of wrap the city around him.”
Whatever the case, Humphrey thinks this is without question a win-win for the Mavs.
“Kyrie brings opinions and emotions to an NBA team both on the court and off the court,” Humphrey said. “There are a lot of people who love the Mavs as a sports team, but now Kyrie is going to bring in social people, people who look at him and be interested in him and what he has to say.
“He’s a colorful guy in terms of how he plays and he’s a colorful guy in how he speaks, so he’s good for the area. I was stunned when it happened, but it’s good for the region.”
Either way, the fans said these are exciting times for the Mavs, and that the trade will have them running to American Airlines Center to watch more games in person.
“This is a no-brainer on the part of Mavericks’ management, because it’s not always that you have an opportunity to get generational talent,” Delley said. “We already had Luka. Now we are on a precipice of having a super team.
“The Mavericks literally got a Big 3 now. Christian Wood, Luka and Kyrie to me makes up a Big 3. Is it the No. 1 Big 3 in the league? That’s for the journalists to debate. The fact that they’re in the conversation is enough for me.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
Share and comment